Mandi recs 'Against the Dark,' 'Hurricane Lily'

Mandi recs 'Against the Dark,' 'Hurricane Lily'

This week I have a really fun romantic suspense, an angsty contemporary and an erotic novella that I really enjoyed.

Against the Dark by Carolyn Crane (romantic suspense). What a fun and sexy book! With the start of a new series, Carolyn Crane gives us a book filled with jewel thieves, secret organizations and fun, quirky characters. Angel left the thieving business behind five years ago, but when her best friend’s aunt gets kidnapped, she agrees to help her girlfriends pull off one more diamond heist to pay the ransom. During this heist, she meets Cole Hawkins. She assumes he is just one of the security guards at the sleazy crime lord party they are crashing. What she doesn’t know is that Cole is a brilliant agent who works for a secret organization called The Association. He is undercover trying to bring down this crime lord. Angel and Cole end up tangled in this heist together, and their attraction to each other quickly makes things more complicated. This book is full of action and such a sexy hero. Cole may look like a blond Clark Kent, but once he decides he wants Angel, he becomes a sexy Superman. Angel and her girlfriends have some great scenes, too, and we get a really creepy, evil villain. I’m really excited about this series, and I hope you check this one out.

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Hurricane Lily by Rebecca Rogers Maher (contemporary romance). This book gives us two very intense, emotionally damaged characters who at first can’t stand the sight of each other, but that intensity soon turns to lust and love. Lily has struggled with anxiety and emotional problems her entire life. She fears the worst, and has hoarded emergency supplies to face any type of disaster. Leaving high-pressured New York City behind, she moves to the Cape to an older, broken-down home. Once she gets there, she stays inside for five months straight, terrified to go out into the scary world again. Her house needs repairs, so she reluctantly hires a handyman. Cliff arrives and assumes Lily is a rich, snobby ice princess, but he needs the money to pursue his writing career, so he accepts the renovation job. Cliff has a lot of anger problems toward the rich and the world’s problems in general. Obviously, with him working in Lily’s house, which she refuses to leave, they end up spending a lot of time together. Although they are each uncomfortable with the other, there is also curiosity, which eventually turns their relationship into more of a romantic one. I really enjoyed the first half of this book as we explore the complex lives of both Cliff and Lily. I wish the second half had played out a little more slowly, but, overall, this is a very different book. I’ll definitely be checking out more by Rebecca Maher.

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Play With Me by Alisha Rai (erotic contemporary). This novella, and first in a series, reunites lovers after 10 years. Adopted at birth, jewelry designer Tatiana Belikov has recently met her biological half-brother, and when she learns he made a mistake and stole money from his boss, she decides to step in and try to smooth things over. When she learns his boss is casino owner Wyatt Caine and her former lover, nervousness sets in. She hasn’t seen or heard from him in 10 years. Their young adult years were spent in love, and learning that they each liked things a little rough in the bedroom. Into role playing and other bedroom games, these two were hot and heavy until things went south in their relationship. Now, Tatiana goes out to Las Vegas to see if she can help her brother out. After Wyatt’s initial shock at seeing her, he brings her into his office to discuss details. The chemistry between these two quickly heats up and things go from the office to Wyatt’s penthouse. This novella takes place pretty much over a day or so, but it is a very satisfying erotic read. What I really enjoyed is how confident the heroine is in the bedroom. She has a quick wit, too, that made me laugh a few times. Alisha Rai has a second novella planned for these two, and I’m excited to read it.